(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a printer, particularly to he conveying roller of the printer.
(2) Brief Description of Related Art
Prior art has been using a roller to convey paper in a printer, as shown in FIG. 1. A metal back shell 10 wraps around two brackets 11, 12, which reinforce the shell. The brackets 11 and 112 each have two sockets 121 and 122 respectively for mounting a shaft 15. A roller 16, made of friction material, is mounted over the shaft 15. The left side 18 of the shaft 15 feeds through the socket 112, and the right side of the shaft 15 feeds through the socket 122. The axle is driven by a gear 17 located at the right end of the axle 15. When the gear 17 is driven by a motor (not shown), the roller 15 rotates and the friction coveys the paper P forward.
Due to high speed operation of modem printers, the roller 16 experiences wear and tear. The life of the printer is thus adversely affected.
An object of this invention is to increase the useful life of a printer. Another object is to reduce servicing coast of a printer.
These object is achieved by using a replaceable roller for a printer. A replaceable friction roller is mounted on the driving shaft of a paper conveying roller. The roller is made replaceable by providing a slit from the surface of the roller to the shaft surface. The roller can be split open along the cut when replacing a new roller. The ends of the shaft of the roller are inserted in at least one open mouth socket. The socket has spring action to hold the shaft in place.